Modern HR Literature on Borrowed Ideas

Apart from psychology, most of the other modern literature work in HR field is generally a copy-paste of ideas from other fields. Something abstract and hi-fi sounding terms from other fields are picked up and pages and pages are written on why the same can be implemented in HR field. I have read some books HR Analytics which just circumference around how various analytics tools can help in HR. No mention of any actual statistical techniques, or how to actually get off the paper and actually implement. And this is just one example, on almost every hot topic of the present we will find similar articles correlating the same to HR function.

Lack of substance is an increasing phenomenon in HR. Partly the reason for this is that HR finds it increasingly difficult to justify its cost to the business. Since it is not easy (and correct) to directly give RoI of HR in dollar terms (so many intangibles), the function creates other ways to show its vitality and potential. Note that most of this literature have words like “can”, “may”, “possibly”, which are trying to predict the outcome and benefits, not any actuals. They also include some case studies of some top companies and correlate it with success.

And the trend will continue, since more and more of the tangible work of the function keeps getting outsourced to professional doers, the remaining sayers in the company will keep doing their jobs as well. Words like Strategy, Business Partnering, Value Creation, sounds good and get the papers/articles published of the leadership of the function in prominent magazines. But on the ground, they hardly matter and no one gives a shit. It all boils down to money, and no amount of hi-fi blab can create or save money.

Take for example the latest fad of “continuous feedback” Performance Management Systems adopted by various IT organizations. Whatever they say, at the end it will give some sort of rating to an employee. I mean the black box between input and output is changed, the values of output didn’t. There are tons of articles on this sort of performance management system, praising the new, ditching the bell curve. Now when Infy and other need to downsize their workforce, more and more blab crops up. Finding real substance in today’s marketing oriented world is getting tougher, no doubt.

We will be reading more such blab on new, borrowed topics like AI, Machine Learning, and Automation, how they can/should/must be used in HR and will help companies save millions of dollars!